In 2006, U.S. author Bill McKibbon was fed up. He was fed up with the government and the public ignoring his warnings about the dangers of climate change: that summer, McKibbon helped lead a 5-day walk across Vermont in order to raise awareness about climate change and to demand accountability from the U.S. government. In 2007, Bill McKibbon founded Step It Up 2007 to continue his mission of calling the government to action; his efforts were immensely successful, and in 2008 he created 350.org.
350.org has grown into an international grassroots organization that raises awareness about climate change, confronts the country’s denial of climate change, and works to cut emissions. The organization’s name is inspired by scientists’ demand that we must reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere from its current level of 392 parts per million to below 350 ppm.
Every year since its creation, 350.org has organized thousands of rallies around the world to call attention to the need for change. In 2009, they organized 5,200 simultaneous rallies in 181 countries, the International Day of Climate Action, which has been called the “most widespread day of political action in the planet’s history.”
350.org has changed the game of environmental organizing when they brought the movement to the masses online, and they have been able to rally millions to the cause. 350.org recognizes that our environment is in danger, and change needs to happen now.